Science · Class 6–9

The Rock Cycle

See how the three types of rock change into one another over millions of years.

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🧠 Remember it

The Rock Cycle

Three rock types keep transforming: Igneous (cooled magma), Sedimentary (compacted layers), Metamorphic (heat + pressure). "Fire, Layers, Squeeze."

🌏 In real life

The marble of the Taj Mahal is a metamorphic rock — limestone (a sedimentary rock) that was changed deep underground by heat and pressure into hard, gleaming marble.

📝 Quick notes

  • Igneous rock forms when molten magma or lava cools and solidifies (e.g. basalt, granite).
  • Sedimentary rock forms when sediments are deposited in layers and compacted (e.g. limestone, sandstone).
  • Metamorphic rock forms when existing rock is changed by heat and pressure (e.g. marble from limestone, slate from shale).
  • Weathering breaks rocks into sediments; intense heat can melt rocks back into magma.

🎯 Test yourself

How does igneous rock form?

By the cooling and solidifying of molten magma or lava.

Learn it fully — free

See the animated, step-by-step The Rock Cycle lesson on Syllab

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